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Editorial Reviews

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This is the second installment in a recording project originally inspired by Pope John Paul II's visit to Paris in 1997 to celebrate the Worldwide Days of Youth. A surprisingly effective anthology of mostly sacred liturgical music, the selections here occasionally give the impression of "bleeding chunks" (as in the majestic opener from one of Monteverdi's sublimest creations, the 1610 Vespers) but have been chosen with imagination. Chung coordinates his forces in larger choral pieces with power and vertical balance, making a standout of the Beethovenian mystery and drive apparent in the "Sanctus" from Schubert's Mass in E-flat. Contributions by Cecilia Bartoli find the mezzo in top form--listen to her finely spun line interweave with the oboe d'amore in a selection from Bach's B Minor Mass--and as evocative as bright stained glass in Fauré's "Pie Jesu." Bryn Terfel brings charismatic presence to his one selection here (also from the Fauré Requiem). Also included are the interminable "Song for Athene" by John Taverner and a sentimental but earnest performance by Andrea Bocelli in Eric Levi's hymn for the world, "I Believe." --Thomas May

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Ordered the first "A Hymn For the World" CD and loved it, especially Cecilia Bartoli. Was overjoyed to find there was a second "Hymn For the World" by the same artists. Again, the CD is great save one fatal flaw. The sound quality is very poor, often tinny, and you have to turn the volume nearly to the max to hear it properly. Tried it in several of my stereos and found it the same. Disappointing because otherwise it would be great. Again Bartoli shines, just wish it were a better recording - and from Deusche Grammophon no less!

As a choral singer, I am familiar with most of these works, but this recording knocked my socks off when I heard excerpts from it on a local classical music radio station. Not only does this CD group together some of the best music anywhere, but the performances are fantastic. The choral group has a remarkable precision and clarity in their sound that is admirable. And wonderful soloists. In summary, you might have heard many of these pieces elsewhere, but the impact of having these great performances all on one CD is amazing.

I would describe many of the songs on this CD as "muddy" in that the vocals do not standing out enough from the background orchastration and the overall effect is one of lack of clarity. There are much better recordings of everyone on this CD. Buy the songs you like but skip the CD.

I bought this album to hear Andrea Bocelli's "I Believe", to which I still cannot listen without tears in my eyes. It is truly the most beautiful "hymn for the world" on the album! Of course, Bocelli is magical and never disappoints! Two other pleasant surprises were "A Song for Athene", the haunting melody I recalled from Princess Diana's funeral - very mysterious and moving. Bartoli's rendition of Gounod's Ave Maria is gorgeous beyond words, just like "I Believe". I believe you should buy this album - a wonderful experience.

I am giving only 2 stars to this CD because, though featuring really "famous" names such as Bartoli and Terfel, the overall sound is not as good as one expects it to be, maybe due to sound technicians, I could not say.But what I think it's WORST about this album, is the Laudate Dominum (from Visperae de Confessore, by Mozart) performance by the Santa Cecilia Academy Choir. Being a choir alt singer myself and having sang the piece a few times, it pierces my ears to hear the altos out of tune IN THE FIRST LINE OF THE CHOIR SCORE!!!! How could the recording company put this in the market? Did nobody in the recording notice it? And the choir conductor? I would be ashamed of having a recording of my choir out of tune.

CD's such as this one are intended, as Gramophone aptly put it, for "The Three Tenors" audience, the kind of "classical music for dummies" fare that I would urge you to avoid. Neither performer on this recording deserves much praise. Bryn Terfel is neither a deep basse like, for example, Cesare Siepi, not a warm-colored basse-taille like Nicolas Rivenq or Stephen Varcoe. He is particularly unispiring in baroque repertory. The hype over him baffles me. But the biggest hype in recent memory (whose ridiculous magnitude is comparable only to the medieval Dutch tulip bubble) is Andrea Bocelli. I was happy to read a recent review of this album by Gramophone, replete with some pretty scalding remarks, particularly about Bocelli (somebody finally said it!). Paraphrasing Gramophone, Bocelli just has no sense of tonal consistency or proper technique; all he does is alternating his annoying and unsteady baritonal droning with his shrill forays into high B's and C's. And alas, the normally excellent Cecilia Bartoli doesn't save this ill-begotten disc. She simply must have had a bad day. To hear her at her best, buy either her "Portrait" album or a more recent album entitled "If you love me, 18th-century songs." To hear a good performance by Terfel, buy "The Damnation of Faust" (Chung). To hear a good Bocelli... well, there isn't anything good with Bocelli. If you want a good "standard" tenor, try Jose Cura. If you are curious about some "non-bel-canto" tenors, check out Bostridge, Agnew or Padmore. In other words, spend your money elsewhere!

This collection (Also released as "Voices from Heaven", I believe) provides a nice retrospective of 400 years of sacred music. The choir is strong overall, and Bartoli and Bocelli (in his one song) prove admirable soloists, especially in the "Pie Jesu".Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Terfel, and for the "Libera Me" in general. What was the purpose of Faure carefully cutting most of the Dies Irae and hellfire passages if the singers attempt to put it all back in in an overdramatic rendition?